Doubles Troubles
by PSI-Triforce
Summary: OneShot. Zelda and Link make it to the final of the Doubles Tournament in Smash Brothers, but Zelda doesn't think she's good enough to be there, and worries about letting Link down. Can she help Link win, or will she be left feeling guilty in defeat? R&R!


Link smiled at Zelda, who smiled back, but was nervous inside. The moment the doubles tournament in Super Smash Brothers had started, Link had asked Zelda to be his partner for it. She had agreed, but now she was having doubts. The final was against Mario and Luigi, and she didn't think she was good enough to face the famous Mario brothers. The competition had been tough, but Link had always been able to pull through. In the first round, they had faced off against Donkey and Diddy Kong, and Link had knocked out Donkey in just under a minute. They beat Diddy with ease, and strolled through the next round, against Marth and Roy. Link had been able to disarm both of the Fire Emblem warriors in less than 10 seconds, and practically fought the whole battle himself.

In the quarter finals, Zelda realised how weak she was. They fought Bowser and Ganondorf, and they very nearly lost due to her. Within the first seconds of battle, Ganondorf had a sword to her throat, and the distraction that this caused Link left him vulnerable to Bowser. Somehow, Link managed to roll into Zelda, pull her out of the way, grab Ganondorf's sword, and throw it at Bowser, all in one move. If it weren't for Link, Zelda definitely wouldn't have got so far.

In the semi-final, Zelda nearly cost them the match again. They were against Sonic and Knuckles, and in an early attack, Sonic curled into a ball and rammed Zelda straight out of the arena, leaving Link to tackle both of the heroic hedgehogs himself. Zelda didn't think he would make it, until later, a swing of his sword sent Knuckles out of the arena, and his boomerang attack left Sonic stunned long enough to charge him off the edge.

Now they were both in the final, and although Link was excited, Zelda was almost too nervous to fight. She didn't want to let down Link; after all, he deserved to be in the final. But Zelda didn't think she was powerful enough to join him there, and especially didn't want to end up costing him the match. They both landed in the 'Final Destination' arena, and after the announcement that they could start had sounded, the Mario brothers instantly showed their plan. Zelda prepared for an attack, but both of the portly plumbers charged at Link, who had trouble keeping them at bay. He swung his sword, but he could only hold them off for a small amount of time. Zelda tried to cast a shield between the fighters, or grasp Mario and fling him away to make it a fair fight, but she was too nervous to use her magic.

After taking damage, Link showed weakness, so Mario charged at him. Link grabbed Mario and did a backwards roll, sending both of the contenders rolling off the edge of the arena. Zelda gasped and ran to the edge, where she found Mario clinging to the side, and Link clinging to Mario. Mario was struggling to hold on, and shouted to Luigi,

"If I fall off, do you think you can take Zelda?"

Luigi looked at his opponent and nodded, so Mario let go, letting himself and Link get knocked out of the arena. Zelda peered down nervously, and heard Link say, just before he was eliminated,

"Don't worry Zelda, I believe in you!"

Zelda turned around, determined not to let Link down, and fired a barrage of magic at Luigi. He dodged most of the spells, and countered with a flying punch. Zelda needed to cling to the edge of the arena and swing herself up to stay in the match. She kicked Luigi in the head, which stunned him. Zelda tried to end the match quickly, and picked up Luigi, turned around, and threw him off the edge. Unluckily, while she had picked him up, he grabbed hold of her hair, and she screamed as the force of the pulling dragged her to the ground.

Luigi had recovered, and spun around with his fists ready, delivering punch after punch to Zelda. Zelda staggered backwards, and with a final kick, Luigi hit her off the edge. Zelda tried to concentrate, and she saw the edge of the platform getting further away slowly, like it was in slow-motion. She stretched her arm as far as it would go, and used all of her energy to try and grab the edge of the platform to stay in.

The tips of her fingers brushed it, but she missed and fell. Luigi celebrated his victory on the arena platform. He had won. Zelda had lost.

They both found themselves transported back into the Smash Brothers mansion where they had been staying, and Zelda saw Mario hugging his brother. People were cheering and congratulating Luigi, when she spotted Link. He looked disappointed, but shook Mario and Luigi's hands as a sign of good sportsmanship. But when they turned away, Link looked sad again.

Zelda felt guilty for causing his loss, and turned and ran to her room, with tears brimming in her eyes. Link noticed her running away and ran after her.

Zelda shut herself in her room and collapsed on the bed, crying. Link knocked on the door, concerned, and said,

"Zelda? Are you ok? You ran off kind of quick there…"

No answer. Link pressed his ear against the door, and heard Zelda crying into her pillow. His eyes widened and he burst in. Zelda tried to hide her tears but she couldn't, so Link sat down on the bed and hugged her. He spoke to her softly, trying to comfort her.

"What's wrong?"

Zelda continued sobbing but looked up from her pillow.

"I lost, Link. I let you down…"

Link stroked her hair as he hugged her and said in a shocked voice,

"What, that? It's only a game Zelda, don't worry about it. There'll probably be another one soon, and we can try again."

Zelda looked up again and said,

"We? We can't go together again, I'll just let you down more… you're better off without me…"

"Don't be silly," comforted Link. "I don't care how well you fight. I only chose you because…"

Link paused in his sentence and blushed as Zelda turned to him.

"Because of what Link, because of what?" Zelda asked. She seemed more curious than sad now.

"Well…," Link said, rubbing the back of his head nervously, "You're my best friend Zelda. I just thought this tournament would be for fun."

Even though it was obvious to everyone, including Link and Zelda, that they were best friends, it still made Zelda smile hearing it out loud. Her smile quickly turned back into a sad grimace though, as she turned back to her pillow.

"But I still let you down Link, you could have won if it weren't for me… I'm not good enough for you…"

"Not good enough for me? It's only a tournament!"

"I wasn't talking about the tournament!"

Zelda realised what she had just admitted, and slowly turned to face Link, who looked more shocked than she had ever seen him. Link stuttered nervously as he tried to talk.

"So… you're saying that…"

"Yes."

"And you feel like…"

"Yes."

"And you don't think that…"

"Yes!"

Zelda sobbed more with every 'Yes' she said, and turned away from Link.

"Just leave Link…" she said mournfully.

Link didn't leave. Link lied down in bed next to her, hugged her harder, and kissed her on the cheek. Zelda turned her face to see him, and he kissed her softly on the lips.

Zelda closed her eyes and couldn't believe what was happening. Her heart was beating faster than ever! Her brain couldn't keep up with what was happening! She was even losing control of her magic, and pink sparks flew out from her hands and shattered several things in the room, including her lamp, window, and mirror.

When the kiss stopped and she dared to open her eyes again, Link smiled at her, and just inches from her face, he whispered,

"Winning isn't everything."


End file.
